I just released version 0.4.2 of my Comment E-Mail Verification WordPress plugin. Most important change: verification codes are no longer being generated (and thus no longer cluttering up the database) for trackbacks and pingbacks. Thanks to Joost de Valk who contributed a few lines of code that ultimately took this important aspect off my todo-list.

This is a beta version because the entire moderation/verification process requires some more streamlining and new default messages, but I felt there would be an audience for an early update anyway. If you have any suggestions or spotted an error: please share!

If you would like to help by translating this plugin to another language please download the plugin, grab the .pot file, create .po and .mo files and e-mail them to me. (You will be credited.) If this was all gibberish to you you can still help: please start by reading Translating WordPress Plugins & Themes – Of course you may contact me at anytime to find out whether anyone else has announced or sent to me a translation to that language already. This will avoid any unnecessary efforts on your side.

There was a very unfortunate bug in all previous versions of the Comment E-Mail Verification Plugin. The verification message was sent to all comment authors, i.e. including those whose comments were caught by Akismet (or any other anti-spam plugin).

Spammers often use fake mail addresses. If an address doesn’t exist, your only problem is some additional server load trying to deliver that message, plus, possibly, bounces in your inbox.

However if, as in most cases, those addresses actually belong to someone who didn’t write that comment in the first place, those people will be bothered. Plus, since the comment itself may appear in the verification message (the default setting), you will be considered a spammer. Even worse, this might get your server blacklisted!

Due to excessive work-load this post was written two days after the release of the bugfix which was available through your WordPress admin area immediately. I have set the date of this post back to approximately the time of the bugfix release.

Nils asked me whether I knew about a WordPress plugin that would verify a comment author’s e-mail address. I didn’t, so I wrote one myself.

The plugin is in its early stages, the current version number is 0.1 – you are welcome to test-drive it and watch it grow, or watch me procrastinate and forget about it over my day-job :/ if I do, go ahead and nag!

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